European Ports Alliance Launched

January 26, 2024

The EU launched a “European Ports Alliance” on to harmonize methods to combat drug smuggling and infiltration by criminal groups at ports. The initiative was inaugurated at Belgium’s Antwerp port, the main gateway for cocaine into Europe. It brought together EU interior ministers and representatives from 16 EU ports and sea transport organizations.

Need for coordinated effort

A coordinated effort is needed because if efforts are only made at one port, criminals immediately move to another. Europe’s major ports currently face violence from local mafias seeking to maintain the lucrative illegal drug trade. These groups include criminal gangs in the Netherlands with Moroccan roots and in Belgium with links to Albanian and Italian mafia rings. They attempt to bribe or coerce port workers, officials, truck drivers, customs and police to enable drug smuggling.

Booming cocaine market

Cocaine smuggled from Latin America is flooding the European market. In Antwerp, annual seizures continue to increase, reaching 116 tonnes in 2023. Antwerp also experiences frequent gang violence as groups compete for control of the trade. Seizures are skyrocketing, yet street prices are falling, indicating ample supply.

Criminals move to smaller ports

As security has increased at ports like Rotterdam and now Antwerp, smugglers have moved to smaller ports like Helsingborg, Sweden. Similarly, reinforced security at Colombian ports led gangs to shift exports from Guayaquil, Ecuador which has become the main gateway to Europe for Colombian and Peruvian cocaine. In the EU, nearly 70% of customs drug seizures occur at ports, showing the need for cooperation between police, customs and private port operators to combat corruption enabling the trade.

Concern over synthetic drugs

Alongside cocaine, authorities increasingly worry about synthetic drugs. French Interior Minister Gerard Darmanin attended the alliance launch and called for a joint strategy against fentanyl before it takes hold in Europe as it has in the U.S. Currently, fentanyl use remains “very low” in Europe, but the EU dismantles 400 drug laboratories yearly, mostly exporting synthetic drugs globally.

Key focus areas

The ports alliance aims to increase information sharing and adopt effective models while mapping drug flows and dismantling the criminal groups behind them. Because criminal groups quickly adapt, the focus cannot remain solely on shipments from Latin America. Smugglers also route drugs through West and North Africa to small boats bound for Europe.

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